


Tripping Over You

by Leslie_Knope



Series: NurseyDex Week [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Derek "Nursey" Nurse is Unchill, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 04:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11524134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leslie_Knope/pseuds/Leslie_Knope
Summary: “Holy shit, Nursey, are you okay?”That’s Dex. Nursey opens his eyes, then immediately slams them shut again. “Yeah. I’m—I’m fine.”“Are you sure? Did you hit your head? Open your eyes.”Nursey does so, reluctantly. He’s got a full face of Dex, who’s kneeling over him, and Nursey suddenly wants to find another set of stairs to fling himself down.Because over the summer? Will Poindexter got motherfuckinghot.





	Tripping Over You

**Author's Note:**

> For day one (mutual pining/get together) of [NurseyDex Week](http://nurseydexweek.tumblr.com/)!

Nursey bounds through the front door of the Haus and takes a greedy inhale. The Haus always smells the same—pie layered over the faint scent of stale beer—and while it might not objectively be the best smell in the world, Nursey sure missed it over the summer.

“Who’s that?” Bitty’s head pops out of the kitchen, and he smiles. “Nursey!”

“Hey, Bits,” he says, grinning as he sweeps Bitty into a hug, lifting him off his feet. “Is anyone else around?”

“Chowder just stepped out, but Dex is upstairs.”

Nursey shoots him a thumbs up and heads for the stairs. He’s a little bit nervous about rooming with Dex this year—the worst person to have a secret crush on is probably your roommate, right?—but mostly excited. They’ll work it out, and hell, maybe all of Dex’s weird habits will be so annoying that Nursey will get over his ill-advised feelings.

“Nursey? Is that you?” Dex steps into view, hanging out of the doorway of their room, and runs a hand through his hair. Nursey’s mouth drops open, and before he knows what’s happening, he’s stumbling backward and falling down the stairs. He lands in a heap at the bottom, luckily on the meat of his ass, and gasps.

The shock wears off after a second, and he does a quick body scan. His hip hurts like a bitch, but otherwise, he’s miraculously okay. There’s clattering from both directions, as Dex scrambles down the stairs and Bitty comes running in from the kitchen.

“Holy shit, Nursey, are you okay?”

That’s Dex. Nursey opens his eyes, then immediately slams them shut again. “Yeah. I’m—I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? Did you hit your head? Open your eyes.”

Nursey does so, reluctantly. He’s got a full face of Dex, who’s kneeling over him, and Nursey suddenly wants to find another set of stairs to fling himself down.

Because over the summer? Will Poindexter got motherfucking _hot_.

Nursey always thought he was attractive, of course, hence the crush, but now…whoa. Dex was big before, but he’s— _broader_ , somehow, filled out even more. His arms look huge in the tank top that he’s got on, and his shoulders are dusted with freckles. His face is sharper, with that strong jawline now covered in a heavy layer of stubble. Even his hair is different, a little long on top and shorter on the sides, and Nursey is so completely and utterly _fucked_.

“Nursey? Derek? Hello?”

“Yeah,” he blurts out, blinking rapidly. “I’m good, I swear. My hip hurts.”

“Let’s get you some ice.” Bitty pats his ankle. “I’ve got a pie about to come out of the oven, that’ll help, too.”

Dex pulls one of Nursey’s arms around his neck and hauls him up as if he weighs nothing. Nursey flushes and clutches at him a little, under the guise of needing the help. “So, uh, how was your summer?”

“Didn’t miss hauling your clumsy ass around,” Dex chirps, but he’s got a faint smile flitting across his face.

Sadly, Nursey is too unstable at the moment to conjure up any comebacks. “Very funny,” he mutters, and Dex deposits him in a chair at the kitchen table. Bitty is waiting with a bag of frozen peas, which Nursey tucks gratefully against his hip. “Thanks guys.”

Dex hovers awkwardly in the doorway for a second, then knocks on the frame and thumbs over his shoulder. “I gotta—I’ll be back.”

As soon as he hears the front door close, Nursey whirls around toward Bitty, who’s smirking at him knowingly.

“You’ve been here for two days,” he hisses. “Could you not have texted me? Just a little ‘Hey, Nurse, B-T-dubs, the guy who you’ve had a crush on for two years looks like a male model now, FYI, so good luck with that.’”

Bitty’s innocent face needs some work. “I thought you knew.”

Nursey shakes his head, frantically. “We texted and Snapchatted and stuff, but I never saw his face. His fucking _face_ , oh my god. I mean, who has a growth spurt right before their 21st birthday? That’s not _fair_.”

“He’s probably 6’3” now,” Bitty says mildly, and Nursey groans, tipping forward to rest his forehead on the table.

“I have to share a room with him. And a bathroom! I am _actually_ going to die.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, sweetie.” Bitty slides a pie onto a trivet on the table, and Nursey stares at it longingly. He’s learned the hard way that no matter how delicious it looks, he needs to wait for the pie to cool down before he digs into it. “I still think you should tell him.”

Nursey rolls his eyes. “Okay, just because your crush on a ‘straight guy’ magically worked out doesn’t mean that mine will.”

“Hey.” Bitty swats him on the back of the head with a dish towel, and Nursey winces, rubbing at the spot. “The lesson to be learned from _that_ is not everyone is as straight as they seem.”

With a sigh, Nursey adjusts the peas on his hip. “Then let me live vicariously through you. How was your summer with Jack?”

Bitty lights up and starts chattering excitedly. Nursey listens, offering replies and encouraging murmurs when necessary, until the front door opens with a crash, and the sounds of several people drift through the Haus.

Dex comes into the kitchen first, and Nursey nearly falls out of his chair. Jesus, this is going to take some getting used to.

“Look who I found,” he says, gesturing behind him toward Chowder and Farmer. They all have drinks in their hands and have clearly come from Annie’s.

“Nursey!”

He laughs and waves. Even though they’ve all been in near-constant contact all summer, it’s so nice to see his friends in person again. “Hey, C. I can’t exactly get up right now, so raincheck on the hug.”

Dex drifts closer to Nursey. “How’s the hip?”

“Better,” he squeaks, and Dex gives him a weird look.

“I, uh, got this for you.”

He thrusts a plastic cup in his direction, and with his eyebrows raised, Nursey accepts it and takes a curious sip from the straw. It’s an iced soy latte, just like he likes, and Nursey has never been so glad in his life that he doesn’t blush very easily. “Thanks, bro.”

Dex looks away from him and sits down across the table, next to Farmer. Bitty finally cuts into the pie, and they all wolf down slices while chatting about their summers, telling stories that most of them already know.

“I like the beard, Dex,” Farmer says slyly, giving him a side-eyed look. “You should keep it.”

Dex rubs a hand over his chin, blushing—at least _one_ thing is still the same, which is gratifying. “Ah, thanks.”

Nursey sighs, poking at the ice in his drink with the straw. He must _know_ , right? How hot he is? He’ll find out soon enough—as soon as they have their first party, he’ll probably be _attacked_ by girls, and the thought makes Nursey want to throw up. And holy shit, they’re sharing a room—he’s not sure he can handle seeing a goddamn tie on the door or whatever. Fuck.

“Hey.” Dex kicks his shin. “What the fuck is up with you, you’re acting weird.”

“Nothing,” he says, too quickly. “I’m fine.”

Dex doesn’t look convinced. “You sure you didn’t hit your head?”

“Yeah.” Nursey slumps in his chair and tries to look calmer than he feels. “It’s chill, man, relax.”

Dex rolls his eyes, and all is back to normal for a few blessed moments.

* * *

“Okay, man, I gotta ask…are you—are we okay?”

Nursey freezes and tips his head back, hanging off the edge of his bed, to look at Dex. Fuck, he’s even attractive upside down. “Uh…yeah. Why are you asking?”

Dex’s jaw is set in that way he gets when he doesn’t want to do something but he’s powering through anyway. “Because it seems like you’re avoiding me. And I’m pretty sure I’m not imagining it.”

 _Shit_. It’s been almost a month, and since Nursey has made exactly zero progress in his get-over-Dex plan, he decided that his best course of action is to avoid Dex like the plague. He clearly hasn’t been as subtle as he intended.

“I mean, I know we had our problems before,” Dex continues, “but…we’d been better lately, I thought? And I’ve really been trying to be a good roommate, but if there’s something I’m doing that’s pissing you off—”

“No,” Nursey blurts out. Shit, shit, _shit_. God, he’s ruining this. Since last year, things between them had been better, so much better, and now Nursey’s big gay crush is going to send them right back to the beginning. He scrambles to his feet while he thinks of something else to say. “I, uh, I haven’t been avoiding you.”

Damn, that’s a sassy eyebrow raise. “Oh, really? I came back to the room last night, and you, all of a sudden, decided that you had to go to Founder’s. At 10pm. In your pajamas. And you hate the library.”

Nursey is frozen. Completely and utterly frozen. He has forgotten what words are.

“I, uh—I needed a book. That I forgot I needed. For today. So I had to go. To Founder’s.”

Dex doesn’t respond, stretching out the silence, then sighs when it’s clear that Nursey isn’t going to fill it. “Fine. Well, if you ever want to tell me what’s _actually_ bothering you, just let me know.”

He droops visibly and twists, reaching for the door, and Nursey curses himself in his head.

“You’re just so hot!”

Dex stills, and his shoulders tense before he slowly turns around. His face is flushed, his eyes wide. “What?”

Nursey racks his brain, wildly searching for something, _anything_ that he can latch onto to backtrack, or to clarify what he said. What sounds like _you’re so hot_? You’re so _taut_? _Caught_?

He is so fucking screwed, and the realization is almost a relief.

“Okay, fuck it. I have had a giant crush on you for an embarrassingly long time.” Dex’s eyes bug out at that, and he opens his mouth, but Nursey forges on ahead. If he’s going to do this, he’s going all in, just to get it off his chest. “Which is fine. Because, like, I can handle it, right? Unrequited love, I’m a poet, it’s basically in the job description, yadda, yadda, yadda. I’m pretty good at it. But _now_? I come back, all ready to live with you, and you are so _insanely_ hot, are you fucking kidding me? I literally cannot even look at you without wanting to like, faint.” He proves the point by spinning around, bracing both hands on the back of his desk chair as he stares at the wall. “So—that’s that. Why I’ve been avoiding you. Because we are friends now, and I love that, and I don’t wanna screw it up. But it’ll be fine. I just need to…get used to everything again, and then I’ll be happily doing my unrequited thing again. Please don’t worry about it.”

That last part comes out sounding pretty goddamn plaintive, and Nursey presses his lips together, bracing against the fact that he might have just ruined his relationship with his best friend.

And then it is so painfully silent in their room for the next 30 seconds that Nursey wants to collapse in a ball and die.

“Are you serious?”

There’s disbelief tinging Dex’s voice, and Nursey has no idea what to make of that. He’s moving, though, coming closer, and he steps right up behind Nursey, their bodies a hair from touching, close enough that Nursey can feel the heat of him. His cheeks flush, and he hates himself a little bit for how much he _wants_.

“Please don’t be a dick about this,” he whispers.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

Well, _that_ doesn’t sound good. Dex is clearly frustrated, and he’s huffing like he does when he doesn’t know what to say.

It’s quiet again, and Nursey would try to run away, if it weren’t for Dex’s body—Dex’s large, very nice body—pretty much holding him in place against the desk.

After what seems like an eternity but is probably less than a minute, Dex _leans down_ a little, holy fuck he’s so tall, and speaks lowly, right next to his ear. “You have looked in a mirror before, right? Do you have any idea what _I’ve_ had to deal with for the past two years? I had no idea my coping skills were so much better than yours. At least I don’t have to run away from you all the damn time.”

Nursey blinks, the words slowly registering. Is he—

“Wait, what?”

“You’re not that dense,” Dex says, but how is Nursey supposed to concentrate on _anything_ when Dex’s lips are brushing against his ear?

“I’m a little distracted right now,” he snaps. Dex shifts back, but _no_ , Nursey can’t have that. He reaches back blindly and manages to snag Dex’s belt loop. “You, uh…really?”

Dex steps up even closer this time, enough so that his front is pressed completely against Nursey’s back. Nursey closes his eyes and takes a careful deep breath.

“Yes, really. Are you going to turn around?”

Nursey swallows. “Not yet, uh, no.”

Dex laughs, a warm little sound right in his ear. “Okay. Just let me know.”

He ducks down again to press the most tender of kisses to Nursey’s neck, complete with a scrape of his stubble, and Nursey is completely unsuccessful at holding back the resulting shiver. Dex smiles—Nursey can feel the curve of his lips against his skin, which shouldn’t be as hot as it is—before biting down a little, and holy fucking shitballs. When the hell did Dex get so _smooth_?

Nursey’s hands tighten on the top of his desk chair, along with his resolve. He is motherfucking _Derek Nurse_ , and he can handle this.

He spins around, the sudden movement causing Dex to stumble backward. Nursey takes advantage of his lack of balance and shoves him up against the wall, one hand curled around his hip as he holds him there and tilts his chin up just the slightest.

Dex is the one who leans in the final inch to press their lips together, the kiss surprisingly soft considering their position. The gentleness doesn’t last very long, though, and when Dex clutches at him, greedy hands on his face and his back, something in Nursey cracks wide open.

He presses forward harder, deepening the kiss and crushing Dex between his own body and the wall. Dex comes back at him with just as much heat, just like in everything else, and somehow, that part is weirdly familiar.

Dex fiddles with the hem of Nursey’s shirt, his fingers trailing along his skin like a question, and Nursey pulls back only long enough to yank it over his head. Dex pulls him back in with a groan, which Nursey eagerly swallows.

Dex’s hands are everywhere, sliding over his abs and curving down his low back, and Nursey is so dazed by the feel of it all that it takes him a minute to realize that there is absolutely no reason Dex should be wearing a shirt. Ever.

He paws at it, completely uncoordinated, and Dex snorts, pushing Nursey back an inch so he can fit his hands in between them.

“Oh my god, why do you wear _layers_ ,” Nursey complains, his voice raspy even to his own ears. He tugs at Dex’s undershirt, slipping underneath it to tease at his waistband before Dex is even finished unbuttoning his flannel. “No shirts ever again, please.”

“Okay.” Dex is alarmingly agreeable, his voice muffled as he sheds his shirts, and Nursey would chirp him for that if he wasn’t busy ogling. Dex’s skin is warm under his hands, freckled and soft, and he’s so ripped that Nursey wants to die.

He takes a step back, toward the bed, and Dex follows him blindly. He trips, only once, but Dex’s arms around his waist keep them both on their feet. Somehow, they manage to collapse onto the bed without hitting their heads on the top bunk or impaling themselves on one of Nursey’s pencils that like to lurk dangerously in his sheets.

“You are so goddamn perfect.” Dex murmurs the words against the skin of his shoulder, and Nursey arches up against his mouth helplessly. “Can I—”

“Oh my god, please do whatever the fuck you want.”

Nursey’s only wearing basketball shorts, and Dex groans when he yanks them down and sees that he doesn’t have anything on underneath. Just the heat of Dex’s stare makes Nursey’s dick throb against his stomach—he is so embarrassingly on edge. One of Dex’s hands grips Nursey’s hip to hold him down against the bed, while the other traces slowly up his thigh.

His hand feels fucking huge when it’s finally around him, and it’s so warm, and after only about four strokes, Nursey slams his eyes shut and comes all over himself with a gasp. The familiar shivery rush is stronger than usual, and he twists into Dex, who grabs his hand and squeezes.

After the shudders have faded, when he finally gathers enough courage to open his eyes, Dex is leaning over him, grinning. There’s nothing mean-spirited about it, though, just a fond shine in his eyes.

Nursey heaves a deep breath and rubs at his face. “We’re never going to mention that again, you know that, right? I need to make sure we’re on the same page here.”

Dex hums and slides his hand up Nursey’s ribs, the touch light enough to make him shiver. “I don’t know. It’s kind of the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nursey’s never going to live this down, he’s sure of it, and he busies himself with Dex’s jeans. Dex tries to help but keeps just getting in the way—four hands are too many, it turns out—and Nursey growls a little as he finally gets Dex on his back with his pants around his ankles. “Jeez, will you just—”

“Just what?”

“Just _chill_ ,” he says, grinning, and Dex rolls his eyes with a groan, but it turns strangled when Nursey drops down and sucks half of his dick into his mouth without any preamble.

“Holy _shit_ , Nursey, oh my god.”

Nursey hums in acknowledgment. He pulls out every single trick he knows, trying with all his might to make Dex even _half_ as unhinged as he was. It seems to be working, as Dex’s hands slide restlessly over Nursey’s head, curling over his ear and trailing down his jaw. And it turns out that Dex makes _noises_ , these strained little moans and strangled half-words that are making Nursey’s dick start to take an interest again.

Dex yanks on Nursey’s hair, hard enough to make his eyes water in a very good way, and he pulls back just far enough so that Dex comes all over his cheek.

“Ah, Jesus Christ,” Dex gasps, his hands flying up to his own hair, and Nursey snorts as he drops a kiss on Dex’s hip. He rubs at his face ineffectually, then bends to rummage through the pile of clothes next to the bed. Dex watches him with warm, lazy eyes, his chest still rising and falling rapidly. “Is that my shirt?”

“Of course it is.” Nursey wipes his face and tosses the shirt in the general direction of the laundry basket, satisfied with the perfunctory clean-up job for now. “Your jizz, your shirt.”

Dex rolls his eyes but tugs Nursey back against him. They kiss idly for a while, hands wandering as their heart rates come down.

“At least I lasted longer than you,” Dex says after a few minutes, and Nursey groans into his shoulder.

“We agreed that we weren’t gonna talk about that.”

“I said no such thing.”

“Shut the fuck up, my stamina is awesome. Probably better than yours.” He shoves at him, but Dex easily bats his hands away.

“And that was just my _hand_ , can you imag—”

“Okay, okay, Mr. Cocky,” Nursey interrupts, shoving Dex off him while he fumbles on the floor for his phone. “I’m starting the timer, we’re settling this. Whoever takes longer to come wins. Me first.”

“But you’re not even hard yet!”

“That’s your problem, not mine.” Nursey wiggles his hips and stretches out, lifting his arms over his head in a lazy sprawl. “Let’s go, you’re on the clock.”

“But what does the winner get? And we didn’t even discuss the _rules_ first.” Dex’s voice is grumpy, but he looks more than a little eager as he swings a leg over Nursey’s thighs to straddle him.

“Stop arguing with me, William, and get to work. Once is just a fluke, you gotta prove yourself.”

Dex glares at him, even though there’s a faint, fond smile on his lips, and yeah, Nursey could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr [here](http://leslieknopeismyshiningstar.tumblr.com/).


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